LAPU-LAPU City Mayor Junard “Ahong” Chan has sent another notice to Lapu-Lapu City Rep. Paz Radaza to vacate the office she is using at City Hall.
The notice, the second sent by Chan since he assumed office, was made after Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año stated that he would not acknowledge a city ordinance providing a district office for Lapu-Lapu City’s lone representative in Congress at the City Hall.
Radaza, however, refuses to budge and has questioned Chan for continuing to force the issue.
“Unsa man gyud ang nagpahipi nga rason ngano gipadali man ta nila sa pagpalayas sa atong opisina? Ngano ila man gyud ipugos ang pagpalayas kanato? (What is the underlying reason why they want to immediately kick me out of my office? Why do they have to forcibly remove me from my office?)” Radaza posted on her Facebook page.
In a letter dated Aug. 9, 2019, Chan ordered Radaza to vacate the premises based on an opinion issued by the DILG, stating that City Ordinance 14-200-2019 was “ineffective and invalid.”
The ordinance provides an office space for Radaza at City Hall to serve as her district office.
The DILG opinion stated that the ordinance could not be considered effective since it was not published in accordance with the Local Government Code.
Citing the same law, the DILG also stated that the power to allocate and assign offices at City Hall belongs to the mayor and not to the City Council.
“Notice is hereby given directing you to vacate the office space before the end of the business day,” said the two-page notice that Chan issued.
But Radaza said the DILG was merely stating an “opinion,” and not an “order” against her.
She said she was surprised to receive the notice since a case concerning her occupancy at City Hall is pending in court.
Radaza has requested Chan to allow her and her staff to occupy her office until such time that the court decides on the matter. She is also asking the mayor not to harass her personnel and to allow them to enter her office when work resumes on Tuesday, Aug. 13. (JKV)